The present invention relates to a force sensor for sensing forces, such as the draft forces applied to the implement hitch of an agricultural tractor.
To provide draft control for agricultural tractors a means of measuring the draft force is required. In a production tractor draft control system with hydraulic draft sensing a pair of bell cranks were attached to opposite ends of a draft shaft. Draft links were coupled to one arm of each bell crank and a sensing cylinder was coupled between a part of the tractor frame and the second arm of one bell crank. With the advent of electronic draft control systems, the sensing cylinder was replaced with a load strap. This load strap had an opening into which was inserted a strain gauge type sensor. However, such strain gauge type sensors are expensive and the resulting sensor has limited sensitivity because of the rigidity of the load strap. Accordingly, a relatively simple, inexpensive and sensitive draft force sensing mechanism is desired.